One Last Time On The Road
5/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 12, 2008
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Complete High Point Notes in PDF Format 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate baseball team is set for its last road trip of the season, making the trek to High Point, N.C., for a 7 p.m. game on Tuesday night against the Big South's High Point. The game is a rematch of an April 2 contest in which the Spartans won in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run single from freshman Reed Lishen. Upstate, which is looking for its 10th straight win against the Panthers, will have to hold off a High Point team that has lost six games in a row.
Quick Hits
• USC Upstate has come-from-behind to win 15 of their 23 games this season.
• After starting the year in a 1-for-25 slump, freshman Keith Bisgounis has hit .343 (36-for-105) with 22 runs and 19 RBIs.
• Junior Eric Guillen is one of 25 players in school history to record 50 hits in two seasons in his career.
• Senior Andrew Runion is hitting .396 (19-for-48) with 10 runs and 10 RBIs during his current 12-game hitting streak, which ties a team season-high.
• Runion became one of 11 players in school history to record 75 hits in a season on Saturday at Stetson. He is eighth in school history with 195 career hits.
• Freshman A.J. Clark is hitting .500 (7-for-14) with six RBIs in his last four games, including a 4-for-5 game with three RBIs on Sunday against Stetson.
• Junior Phillip Myers has a 2-0 record and 2.91 ERA in his last nine appearances. He has tossed 21.2 innings and struck out 16 in that span.
• Junior Justin Hayes' four saves are tied for sixth in the Atlantic Sun and his seven career saves are tied for sixth in school history.
Hits Keep On Coming
Senior Andrew Runion has been the Spartans' top hitter all season long, entering the final week of the season with a hefty .375 average. Now, he is looking to solidify his spot in the USC Upstate record book. With 75 hits this season, he is already tied for ninth in school history, just eight hits from the school record set by Brad Wingo, who posted 83 hits in 2006. With 195 career hits, he is just two hits away from seventh in school history, where Zach Huckabay (2001-04) stands and five hits from becoming the seventh player in school history to reach 200 hits in a career. With 48 doubles, Runion is also five doubles from the school-record of 53 set by Chris Nowak (2002-04).
Bisgounis' Bat Heats Up
Freshman Keith Bisgounis has been red hot since the month of April, as the Spartan outfielder has posted a 17-for-44 (.386) with nine runs and nine RBIs in the last 12 games. The hot streak has lifted his average to a season-high .285 after he started the season in a 1-for-25 slump. Since then, though, the outfielder has been one of the most consistent hitters in the Spartan lineup, going hitless in just seven of 30 games and hitting .343 (36-for-105).
Fab Freshmen
The trio of Blake Green, A.J. Clark and Keith Bisgounis have solidified their slots as one of the finest freshmen classes in school history. Green leads the Spartans with a .346 average in A-Sun games and he enters the week hitting .299 with 47 hits. He was tied for 26th in the nation and third in the A-Sun in sac bunts with 11 through May 4. He also has six bunts for base hits. Clark is hitting .316 (30-for-95) with 11 runs and 19 RBIs and is one of the team's hottest hitters, hitting .500 (7-for-14) with six RBIs in his last four games. On the mound, Clark is 2-1 with a 4.71 ERA in 36.1 innings. Bisgounis, after starting the year in a 1-for-25 slump, has hit .343 (36-for-105) with 22 runs and 19 RBIs.
Freshmen On The List
Freshmen Blake Green and Keith Bisgounis have each made a significant impact on the Spartan outfield this season, securing starting slots in the lineup for a majority of the season. Now, they are beginning to leave their mark on the Spartans' rookie record book. Green is one of just 11 freshmen in school history to post 40 hits in a season. His 47 hits are eighth in the freshman record book. Bisgounis has left his mark on the scoreboard, as he is currently eighth among Upstate freshmen with 22 RBIs and tied for ninth with 25 runs.
Andrew's Artillery
Senior Andrew Runion has been at the heart of the Upstate lineup for three years and now, as a senior, he is enjoying some of the finest power numbers of his career. Ironically, the competition has stepped up on the 5-11 Simpsonville, S.C., native as Upstate has moved to Division I from Division II. Still, he is slugging a career-high .580 and his nine homers are already a career-high, surpassing his previous best of four. He has made an impact among the best in the Atlantic Sun Conference, entering the week eighth in batting average (.375), seventh in hits (75), tied for eighth in homers, seventh in total bases (116) and eighth in slugging percentage.
Myers Mowing `Em Down
Junior Phillip Myers has started into his role as the team's fourth starter and weekend left-handed relieving specialist, having posted a 2.91 ERA in his last eight outings. Myers has tossed 21.2 innings in seven relief appearances and two starts, posting a 2-0 record. He has struck out 16 and walked six. He earned his first win in an Upstate uniform with 2 2/3 innings of one-relief against Lipscomb on April 19 to shut down the Bison at the end of the game. He won his first game as a starter on May 7, as he went six innings, striking out a career-high seven and allowing two runs as Upstate downed Presbyterian, 9-2.
